Current Affairs Quiz-September, 2020

Notes:
The Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2019 was conferred to the British broadcaster David Attenborough. The price was conferred to him in a virtual event by former Indian PM Manmohan Singh.
The “Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development” was instituted in 1986 and is awarded to individuals / institutions who work to achieve international peace. It consists of a monetary award of Rs.25 lakh along with a citation.

Notes:
The US-based Aerospace and Defence company Northrop Grumman has named its spacecraft named after Kalpana Chawla, the first woman of Indian descent to go to space.
The company’s next space station resupply ship, which is a NG-14 Cygnus spacecraft has been named as ‘S.S. Kalpana Chawla’. The company has a tradition of naming each of its Cygnus ship after an individual achiever in Human spaceflight.

Notes:
Former World Number 1 Women Tennis player Serena Williams has entered the US Open 2020 semi-finals.
With this, the Tennis Legend has entered semi-finals in US Open for eleven times in a row. Serena, who is 38 years old, has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles including six US Open. She was the runner-up in US Open four times.

Notes:
Social media major Twitter India has recently launched a dedicated search prompt for resources on mental health and suicide prevention.
This initiative has been launched on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day. The search prompt #ThereIsHelp has been launched in association with the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS).

Notes:
India and China have recently agreed on five points regarding the situation on the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
On the side lines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meet in Moscow, the External affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi had strategic talks which focussed on Disengagement of troops and easing of tensions.

Notes:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a Conclave on “School Education in 21st Century” today through video conference.
This video conference was held on the background of National Education Policy 2020, as a part of the Shiksha Parv initiative. The Prime Minister also announced that School students will have new curriculum framework by 2022.

Notes:
The Government of India has set up an Empowered Group of Ministers headed by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, to oversee and guide the entire process of corporatization of Ordnance Factory Board.
The Union Government recently announced that Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) – a subordinate office of Defence Ministry would be converted into one or more 100 % Government owned corporate entities.

Notes:
Global rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has estimated that India’s real GDP would contract by 11.5 per cent in fiscal year 2020-21.
Earlier, the agency has estimated that India’s economy would contract by 4.0 per cent during 2020-21. CRISIL also said that the collapse in GDP was one of the sharpest among all major G-20 nation and the growth is expected to rebound to 10.6 per cent in 2021-22.

Notes:
Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar virtually addressed the inaugural session of the intra-Afghan talks, being held in Doha.
Earlier this week, the Minister had visited Iran and discussed the Chabahar port project and the situation in Afghanistan. The Defence Minister also met his counterpart in Iran. India had earlier attended the signing of the US-Taliban pact on February 29.

Notes:
A strategic Defence and Security agreement has been recently signed between the Maldives and the United States.
The “Framework for U.S. Department of Defense-Maldives Ministry of Defence and Security Relationship” seeks to promote cooperation maintaining peace and security in the Indian Ocean. India had previously opposed a proposed Status of Forces Agreement between the two countries in 2013.